Speakers

Kevin R. Zavadil, Sandia National Laboratories
Kevin R. Zavadil is a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff in the Material Sciences and Engineering Center at Sandia National Laboratories. He received a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Arizona in 1989 and has spent the last 27 years conducting research on energy related materials at Sandia. Kevin manages the Chemical Transformation Thrust portfolio for the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR), a DOE Energy Innovation Hub. His current research is focused on developing rechargeable high energy density lithium and magnesium metal batteries based on conversion cathodes like sulfur, oxygen, and metal halides that undergo chemical transformation reactions.

Carol L. J. Adkins, Sandia National Laboratories
Carol Adkins is the Director of Energy Technologies and System Solutions Center, and Director of the Renewable Systems and Energy Infrastructure Program Area at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Previous management assignments include Director of Materials Science and Engineering; Deputy Director of the Nuclear Weapons Science and Technology Strategic Area (with responsibility for the major NNSA science and infrastructure funding at Sandia); Principal Program Director for the Defense Security Program, which included all physical and cyber security at Sandia and the National Counter Terrorism and Weapons Incident Response programs; and Deputy Director of the Advanced Manufacturing Science and Technology Center. Carol is a chemical engineer and has performed research in the areas of chemical vapor deposition of ceramics and tungsten, aerosol processing, cleaning with supercritical CO2 and semiconductor wafer contamination and cleaning. She has a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from theUniversity of New Mexico and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Ron Talbot, PNM Resources
Ron Talbot is Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for PNM Resources, the parent company of Public Service Company of New Mexico and Texas-New Mexico Power. With over 30 years of experience in the utility industry, Talbot is responsible for both Texas and New Mexico transmission and distribution operations, along with generation, safety, environment, supply chain and management systems. Before joining PNM Resources in 2012, Talbot was the chief operating officer for Indianapolis Power and Light Company. He holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Dr. Imre Gyuk, U.S. Department of EnergyAfter taking a B.S. from Fordham University, Dr. Gyuk did graduate work at Brown University on Superconductivity. Having received a Ph.D. in Theoretical Particle Physics from Purdue University he became a Research Associate at Syracuse. As an Assistant Professor he taught Physics, Civil Engineering, and Environmental Architecture at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Gyuk became an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at Kuwait University where he became interested in issues of sustainability. Dr. Gyuk joined the Department of Energy to manage the Thermal and Physical Storage program. For the past decade he has directed the Electrical Energy Storage research program in the Office of Electricity which develops a wide portfolio of storage technologies for a broad spectrum of applications. As part of the program he also supervises the $185M ARRA stimulus funding for Grid Scale Energy Storage Demonstrations. He is internationally recognized as an expert on storage technology.

George W. Crabtree, Argonne National Laboratory
George Crabtree is Director of the Joint Center for Energy Storage (JCESR) at Argonne National Laboratory and Professor of Physics, Electrical, and Mechanical Engineering at University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC). His research interests include next-generation battery technology and integrating energy science, technology, policy and societal decision-making. He has led several workshops for the Department of Energy on energy science and technology, is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and has testified before the U.S. Congress on the hydrogen economy, on meeting sustainable energy challenges, and on the prospects for next generation electrical energy storage.

John Freisinger, Technology Ventures Corporation
John Freisinger is the President and CEO of Technology Ventures Corporation. Before joining TVC, Mr. Freisinger worked in a range of leadership roles with several venture-backed entrepreneurial companies including COO of Smart Systems Technologies and VP of Sales and Marketing for Essential Communications. His successful exits include sales to two publicly-traded companies, SBS Technologies, Inc (Nasdaq:SBSE) and ODS/Intrusion.com (Nasdaq:INTZ). Mr. Freisinger’s early work was conducted in the former Soviet republics with Access Russia for Coca-Cola Refreshments Moscow. John is a graduate of the University of New Mexico where he currently teaches classes in Entrepreneurism. He resides in Albuquerque, NM with his wife and twin children.

Charles Hanley, Sandia National LaboratoriesMr. Hanley is a Senior Manager at Sandia National Laboratories and manages the Grid Modernization and Military Energy Systems Program. His group executes advanced research on several aspects of our critical electric infrastructure, including energy storage; power systems research such as microgrids, resilient infrastructures, optimization, and controls; renewable energy integration; power electronics; and advanced analytics for efficient military developments and operations. He has been working in Sandia’s renewable energy and electric grid programs since 1994. From 2005 through 2014, Charlie managed Sandia’s Photovoltaics and Distributed Systems Integration Program. Prior to that, he managed Sandia’s international renewable energy programs, through which he oversaw the implementation of more than 400 photovoltaic and wind energy systems in Latin America. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Science from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, and his M.S. degree in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, New York.

Ray Byrne, Sandia National Laboratories
Ray Byrne is a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories, where he has been employed since 1989. He holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, as well as a finance degree from the University of Chicago. He is team lead for the energy storage Equitable Regulatory Environment thrust area at Sandia.

Jonathan Hawkins, PNM ResourcesJonathan Hawkins is the Manager of Advanced Technology and Strategy at PNM Resources, an energy holding company based in Albuquerque New Mexico. Jonathan’s team is responsible for providing research and development of new technologies and the proposal of possible business applications of emerging technologies in support of PNM Resources strategic objectives. Areas of responsibility include “smart grid” technologies integration of distributed energy resources; and storage technologies. Jonathan has his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Mexico and is a member of IEEE.

Manel Martinez-Ramon
Dr. Martínez-Ramon has served as an associate professor at the Universidad de Alcalá, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. During the last 15 years, he has taught nearly 30 different graduate and undergraduate courses in Electronics, Electric Networks, Electromagnetics, Signal Processing, Telecommunications or Data Processing. Since 2004 he exclusively taught in English in bi-lingual engineering degree programs in Spain. Dr. Martínez-Ramón has served the Spanish university as associate provost for infra-structures and environment, associate dean of the Politecnic School (school of engineering) of Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, director of teaching management, and director of several degrees in telecommunications engineering. His research interests are in Machine Learning, where he has collaborated in numerous founded research projects in applications to signal processing, multimedia and speech processing, theory of decision and estimation, neuroimaging, and others. His current research is related to cognitive radio, smart grid, and neuroimaging. In 2003-2004, he did a post-doc in applications of Machine Learning to neuroimaging at the MIND Institute, UNM.

Alan S. Nanco, Sandia National Laboratories
Mr. Nanco is the Manager of the Military and Energy Systems Analysis organization at Sandia National Laboratories. Mr. Nanco is a member of the Technical Panel for Land Systems Integration and Interoperability (TP-2) as part of The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP) addressing common systems engineering, integration and interoperability challenges facing the US and our international allies. Mr. Nanco has over 30 years of research, development and engineering experience coupled with his executive leadership experience in industry prior to joining the Sandia National Laboratories management team in 2005. Previously he worked with the US defense industry and numerous DoD/military organizations on a wide variety of military systems and programs. Mr. Nanco began his career as a research engineer in 1980 and ultimately served in executive positions with two large defense companies. In 1994, he co-founded and owned a small consulting company that provided strategy, management and engineering services to a wide variety of national defense customers for over 10 years. Mr. Nanco also served in the US Army as an Air Defense Artillery NCO. He earned his Civil Engineering degree in 1980 and then studied business and operations research at the Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico.

Steve Bukowski, El Paso Electric Co.
As an electrical engineer of 26 years, Steve has worked with a diverse background of various companies in several different fields of electrical engineering, including Power and Energy systems, telecommunication, data networking, and the communication industry as director of research, chief architect, senior managing engineer, lead engineer, systems engineer, senior consultant, technical sales, and integration and test engineer. His current focus at EPE is developing a technology vision and roadmap in support of EPE corporate goals and implementing the road map with strategic objectives. Steve’s goals at EPE include shifting EPE to a technology position preparing it for external and internal pressures from rapid advances of technology, increased regulation, changing legislation, changing workforce, and climate change.

Satish Ranade, PNM
Satish Ranade is PNM Professor and Head of Electrical and Computer Engineering at New Mexico State University. His interests are in Electric Energy Systems with emphasis on renewables integration and microgrids. His recent work is the area of stochastic scheduling for distribution feeders with renewables and energy storage. He is a past chair of the IEEE PES Transmission and Distribution Committee.

Steve Willard, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)Steve Willard is a Technical Executive at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) where he leads several initiatives in the Storage and DG area. Prior to joining EPRI, Steve was a Project Manager for PNM, where he served as a Principal Investigator for PNM’s Prosperity Energy Storage Project, deployed under the DOE’s Storage Demonstration Program. He has also previously been a Product Support Manager for Honeywell Power Systems, Lecturer in the US Peace Corps and Computer Applications Engineer at Bridgers and Paxton Consulting Engineers Inc. He has more than 30 years’ experience in the energy industry energy industry and is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Energy Storage Association. Steve holds 2 US Patents, BSME and MBA degrees, both from the University of New Mexico, and is a licensed engineer in the State of New Mexico.

Mike Grim, Executive Manager of Power, Regulatory & Legislative Affairs for Denton Municipal Electric
As Executive Manager of Power, Regulatory & Legislative Affairs for Denton Municipal Electric (DME), Mike Grim is responsible for energy portfolio management, monitoring of generating facility operation, external affairs that include community, state and federal regulatory and legislative issues, key accounts management, energy efficiency, business and economic development, regulatory compliance, legal issues affecting DME and strategic planning. His accomplishments include development of 40% of Denton’s power portfolio in 2009 from renewables with a goal of achieving over a 70% renewable energy portfolio by 2019 through implementation of the Renewable Denton Plan. Mike’s efforts have contributed to Denton’s winning of two American Public Power Association (APPA) and U.S. Department of Energy Awards; the 2011 Public Power Wind Award and the Outstanding Community Service Award. DME has been recognized by the Texas Public Power Association (TPPA), an advocacy organization that consists of 70+ municipally owned utilities, as the city that has achieved the top ranking for renewable percentile usage (40%) among Texas cities served by a public power utility. Mike previously served as the Chairman of the Pennsylvania – New Jersey – Maryland (PJM) Members Committee, Chairman of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Markets Committee, Chairman of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) Supply Policy Task Force and Executive Member of the Mid-Atlantic Advisory Council (MAAC) Regional Executive Committee for energy reliability. He has also served as a Board member of the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB).

Sukumar Brahma
Dr. Sukumar Brahma is William Kersting Endowed Chair Associate Professor and Associate Director of the Electric Utility Management Program (EUMP) at New Mexico State University, USA. He serves as the chair of IEEE Power and Energy Education Committee, is a member of the IEEE Power System Relaying Committee, and is an editor for IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery.

Jay Johnson, Sandia National LaboratoriesJay Johnson is a senior member of technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories and has been researching renewable energy and energy efficiency systems for more than 10 years. Jay leads a number of multidisciplinary, renewable energy research projects including the coordination of the Smart Grid International Research Facilities Network (SIRFN), advanced inverter interoperability test protocol development and the virtual power plant program at Sandia National Laboratories.

Michael Giesselmann, Texas Tech UniversityDr. Michael Giesselmann, P.E. received his doctoral degree in Electrical Engineering in 1986 from the Technical University in Darmstadt, Germany. At present he holds the rank of Professor and is the Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas Tech University. Dr. Giesselmann is a Senior Member of IEEE and is a licensed professional engineer in Texas. Dr. Giesselmann has been a principal faculty member and key researcher in the Pulsed Power Laboratory since 1986. During his 24 years in the Laboratory, Dr. Giesselmann educated a new generation of leaders in the field of Pulsed Power. He conducted groundbreaking research in the use of Power Electronics for pulsed power. He pioneered research on the use of Power Semiconductors, namely Isolated Gate Bipolar Transistors, for use in rapid capacitor chargers in hard-switching mode. Hard-switching was a radical departure from the prevailing opinion, that resonant switching is the only workable technology.

Cliff Ho, Sandia National LaboratoriesCliff Ho is a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories, where he has worked since 1993 on problems involving concentrating solar power, water safety and sustainability, heat- and mass-transfer processes in porous media, and microchemical sensor systems for environmental monitoring. Dr. Ho has authored over 200 scientific papers, in addition to 10 patents and several book chapters. Dr. Ho served as an Adjunct Professor from 1996 to 2003 in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of New Mexico, and he received an Outstanding Professor Award in 1997. In 2010, Dr. Ho was awarded the national Asian American Engineer of the Year Award, and in 2013, he won an R&D 100 Award for his development of a design-optimization and glare-analysis software tool for solar photovoltaic systems. In 2008, Dr. Ho won Discover Magazine’s “Future of Energy in Two Minutes or Less Video Contest,” and he donated the $5,000 winnings to his daughters’ elementary school to start its first Green Team. Dr. Ho received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1989, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1990 and 1993.

Abhaya Datye, University of New MexicoAbhaya Datye, Distinguished Regents Professor, is Chair of the department of Chemical & Biological Engineering. His research interests are in heterogeneous catalysis, materials characterization and nanomaterials synthesis. His research group has pioneered the development of electron microscopy tools for the study of catalysts. Current research involves fundamental studies of catalyst sintering, the catalytic properties of single atom and sub-nm metal particles, the synthesis of biorenewable chemicals and of novel nanostructured heterogeneous catalysts for improved hydrothermal stability for aqueous phase and high temperature reactions. His awards & honors include: Fellow of the Microscopy Society of America; Fellow of the AIChE; Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK).

Rod Borup, Los Alamos National LaboratoryRod Borup has been a Scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory since 1999. Rod is the Program Manager for the Fuel Cell and Vehicle Technologies Programs and is a Team Leader for fuel cells. He received his B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Iowa in 1988, and his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 1993. He has worked on fuel cells for transportation at both Los Alamos and General Motors. He has been awarded 13 U.S. patents, authored about 100 papers related to fuel cell technology and presented over 100 oral papers at international and national meetings, with over 6000 citations and an H-factor of 29. He has led projects on hydrogen production, water transport and PEM fuel cell durability. He was the Principal Investigator for the 2004 Fuel Cell Seminar Best Poster Award, was awarded the 2005 DOE Hydrogen Program R&D Award for his team’s work in fuel cell durability, received the U.S. Drive 2012 Tech Team Award for the Fuel Cell Technical Team, was recently selected as the 2014 winner of the Research Award of the Energy Technology Division of the Electrochemical Society and PI for the 2015 Fuel Cell Seminar Best Poster Award. He is a member of the DOE/US Drive Fuel Cell Technical Team, and is co-chair of the DOE Fuel Cell Technologies Office Durability Working Group and Director for the mulit-lab consortium for Fuel Cell Performance and Durability (FC-PAD).

Fernando Garzon, University of New MexicoFernando Garzon holds a joint appointment as a UNM Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering and a Faculty Research Scientist at Sandia National Laboratories. His research interests include: the development of advanced gas sensors, fuel cell materials technology, energy storage technology, high temperature materials and devices, electronic conducting transition metal oxides, thin film growth, ceramic membrane technology, and solid state ionics. Fernando Garzon has co-authored over 140 scientific publications with more than 6000 citations and served as an editor for the Electrochemical Society Publication series, Solid State Ionic Devices. He is the inventor of an R&D 100 award winning high temperature combustion control sensor, and a new class of solid-state gas sensors for hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitric oxides. He holds ten patents in electrochemical technology. Fernando Garzon is the Past Chairman of the High Temperature Materials Division of the Electrochemical Society.

Tom Stephenson
Prior to co-founding Pajarito Powder (PPC) in the spring of 2012, Mr. Stephenson was a co-founder of the Verge Fund in 2003, and currently serves as Managing General Partner in addition to his responsibilities at PPC. Mr. Stephenson has worked with a number of companies in the energy industry, including current and past Verge portfolio companies Altela and Wellkeeper, and was previously on the Board of Directors of LabStart, a joint-venture entity created to assist in the commercialization of technologies from Los Alamos National Laboratory, one of the sources of technology for PPC. He previously served as a director and the lead investor for Mesofuel, a start-up company commercializing novel hydrogen reforming technologies for the fuel cell industry. Mr. Stephenson has a B.A. in Physics from Rice University and an M.B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin.

Christopher Moen, Sandia National LaboratoriesChristopher D. Moen integrates applied research across organizations to solve national security problems, including defense, natural resources, and the environment. The development and application of numerical and physical simulation have been common focuses throughout his work. He is currently the senior manager for Combustion and Industrial Technologies group at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, California, supporting the transportation energy mission. The group is focused on the study of combustion processes for advance engines and fuels as well as hydrogen science for fuel cell technologies and defense programs. Dr. Moen received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aeronautics and astronautics from the University of Washington and holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of California-Davis. His technical contributions are in the areas of aerospace, material manufacturing, and safety, all involving computational fluid dynamics and heat transfer.

Zach De Gregorio, Spaceport America
Zach De Gregorio is the Chief Financial Officer at Spaceport America and is also a licensed CPA within New Mexico. De Gregorio previously held management positions in the film and hotel real estate investment sectors and most recently business operations for the Energy Technologies & Systems Solutions Center of Sandia National Laboratory. De Gregorio began his studies at University of Southern California in Los Angeles where he received a Bachelor Degree in Cinema and Business. He also holds a Master of Business Administration with a focus on Financial Management and Markets from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. Zach went on to complete a Master of Accounting Degree from the Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico.

Venkat Srinivasan, Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryVenkat Srinivasan is a Staff Scientist in the Energy Storage and Distributed Resources Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. He also serves as the Deputy Director of the JCESR Energy Storage Hub. Dr. Srinivasan’s research interest is in developing the next-generation batteries for use in vehicle and grid applications. Dr. Srinivasan received his bachelors in electrochemical engineering from the Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI) in Karaikudi, India, in 1995 and his PhD from the University of South Carolina in Chemical Engineering in 2000. His thesis topic included various aspects in electrochemical capacitors and the nickel hydroxide electrode.

Bernie Carpenter, Aerospace Corporation/AFRL-RVSVP

Dr. Carpenter currently supports the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) with research and development in the area of photovoltaics, advanced energy storage and array structures. These technologies are considered foundational elements for SMC spacecraft and are instrumental in enabling future capability for UAV’s and soldier power applications. He is involved with technology road mapping sponsored by DOE and ARPA-E agencies and has initiated energy development discussions between other government agencies. This strategy is part of a comprehensive plan that allows AFRL better utilization of core energy related investments. Dr. Carpenter manages several efforts focused on synthesis of low cost III-V solar cells that are expected to be cost competitive with silicon and have efficiency approaching state of art multijunction photovoltaics. In addition he is principle investigator for a number of “beyond li-ion” programs.

Jerry Simmons, Sandia National LaboratoriesDr. Jerry A Simmons is a Laboratory Fellow and the Chief Scientist in the Office of the CTO at Sandia National Laboratories. In this role he provides guidance on the generation and maturation of strategic science and technology initiatives for the laboratory, including within Sandia’s $145M/year Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program. Jerry’s past positions include: Deputy Director of the Center for Physical, Chemical, and Nano Sciences; Lab Coordinator of DOE/Basic Energy Sciences Materials research; Founding Director of the DOE Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) for Solid-State Lighting Science; and Director of the DOE Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT). Jerry received a double major BA in Philosophy and Physics from New College of Florida in 1982, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Princeton in 1990. Jerry has authored or coauthored over 130 publications, and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Christopher Orendorff, Sandia National Laboratories

Christopher J. Orendorff is Manager of the Power Sources R&D Department at Sandia National Laboratories. The department is focused on energy storage R&D to support a secure and sustainable energy future. Our customers and partnerships are very diverse from government agencies to private industry and we touch a variety of energy storage and conversion technologies from thermoelectrics and lithium primary batteries to advanced flow battery and lithium-ion. Prior to his current role, he was the Principal Investigator for the Battery Abuse Testing Laboratory (BATLab) and Battery Safety R&D portfolio at Sandia National Laboratories. Chris earned B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Purdue University in 1999, a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Arizona in 2003.

Jeremy Lewis, Bureau Chief Energy Conservation and Management Division New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources DepartmentJeremy Lewis earned a B.S. degree in Natural Resource Studies from the University of Massachusetts and a Masters of Community and Regional Planning Degree from the University of New Mexico. His current role with the New Mexico Energy Office includes developing and managing programs in renewable energy, energy efficiency and alternative transportation. He chairs the New Mexico Renewable Energy Storage Working Group as well as the Albuquerque Public Schools’ Water & Energy Conservation Committee. Jeremy has served as a Transmission Policy Analyst with Western Resource Advocates, as a Peace Corps Volunteer expanding sustainable agriculture in Central Africa, and as an AmeriCorps Volunteer for literacy and conservation programs in Northern New Mexico. For details on the New Mexico Energy Office visit www.CleanEnergyNM.org

As project director for Clean Energy Group and Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA), Todd Olinsky-Paul directs the Energy Storage and Technology Advancement Partnership (ESTAP) project, a federal-state funding and information sharing project that aims to accelerate the deployment of electrical energy storage technologies in the United States. Todd also works on resilient power in the areas of solar+storage, fuel cells and combined-heat-and-power (CHP) for critical infrastructure energy resiliency. His recent work has focused on electrical energy storage technologies and policy, renewable thermal generation and siting issues, wind energy siting issues, renewable energy and grid interactions, financing and policy incentives, and emerging technologies. He has authored numerous reports for state and federal agencies. Todd joined CESA from the Pace Energy and Climate Center, where he served as the Manager of Communications, Education, and Outreach, as well as an Energy Policy Analyst. Todd has a M.S. in Environmental Policy from Bard College and a B.A. from Brown University.

Andrew Rodke, Research Assistant at the Energy Conservation and Management Division of New Mexico

Andrew Rodke is a research assistant in a cooperative effort between the Energy Conservation and Management Division, Sandia National Labs, and the Clean Energy State Alliance; researching Energy Storage solutions for Rural Electric Co-ops in Northern New Mexico. Andrew has a diverse background in Renewable Energy having worked in the fields of Biofuels, Solar Thermal, PV, and Concentrating Solar. He earned an Associates Degree of Sustainable Energy Technologies in Solar Thermal Design and Biofuels from the Santa Fe Community College.

Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.